2010 Rockchuck hunting!!! First video of the season!

[Longdayjake]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpFcXbEXlm8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obfykpvy26c

I got a couple of videos of this weeks exploits. I hope you enjoy. Just FYI, the hornady vmax does much better than an fmj. The first video is shots with fmj and the second is shots with the vmax.

[knoxville]

nice.. you entering any rock chuck contests this year.

[themusgrat]

Yous shootin those cute lil critters? Shame.

[knoxville]

hmmm yah

[Longdayjake]

knoxville,

I'm in Poky too. In fact those videos were taken in McAmmon. I didn't know we had rockchuck contests.

[waterfowler]

Why do they call them rock chucks? Here we call them woodchucks or whistle pigs. Is there a difference?

[Longdayjake]

we have whistle pigs here but they aren't the same thing. Whistle pigs are much smaller. Rock chucks and wood chucks are the same thing. Here they just hang out on rocks so thats what they call them.


Went out for an hour today and got the only one that gave us a shot. This one is really good as it shows how far away it really is when we shoot. It was windy and kinda cold but I think this is probably the best video yet. Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxqU-Am8IZc

[cornbush]

You just made me miss it up there even more.
Down around the Grace turn off is pretty good too.
If you ever get out by Peagram there are a few runnin around out there too.

[knoxville]

ya jake there are a few in the area every year. In fact last year i won a big one in idaho falls made enough money for half down on my new 243 wssm and i'm getting sponsored this year if ya want i can update you when i find out the dates

[mrawesome22]

Looks like a little more time at the range is needed LOL.

[Gbro]

Q1. How far away are your shots?
Q2. What are you using for a camera?

Q3.What is beyond the target, and by that I mean at least 45 degrees each way from the target???

You are responsible for each and every bullet you shoot, no matter what it ricochet's off of and where it goes.

[Longdayjake]

ya jake there are a few in the area every year. In fact last year i won a big one in idaho falls made enough money for half down on my new 243 wssm and i'm getting sponsored this year if ya want i can update you when i find out the dates

Yeah man I would love to get in on it. Sounds like a blast!!!

What is beyond the target, and by that I mean at least 45 degrees each way from the target???

You are responsible for each and every bullet you shoot, no matter what it ricochet's off of and where it goes.

Don't worry about it. We don't shoot unless there is a very good back stop. Some of the shots look like they go high but when that happens they hit another cliff off in the distance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxqU-Am8IZc If you look at the third video I posted you will see how far they are and what is in the distance.

Also, ricochet really isn't an issue when you shoot straight into rocks. Especially with the vmax. Oh and the camera is the JVC HD 30 gig. I think its two years old so there should be a newer better model by now. I use a tripod that I bought with a spotting scope to keep the camera steady.

Looks like a little more time at the range is needed LOL.

I can put shots into one ragged hole all day long at the range. I can shoot sub moa at 300 yards at the range. However, things change when you get out in the field and you don't have a bench to rest upon and you're sitting on an uneven rock. I was using a new gun too so it is taking me some time to get used to how it shoots.

[Gbro]

That camera is incredible!
However I do not see the cliff in the background.
I realize the v-max bullet is fragile and will break up, however if I were to show a shot like that on the firearms safety video, "Shoot Don't Shoot" I would have to only accept "Don't Shoot" as the correct answer.
The title on the youtube video, "Rockchuck headshot at 201 yards!!! .223 60 grain hornady vmax from a Ruger M77!"
The 3 (!!!) is triple overkill, as that shot is .22 rim fire range. One (!) is overkill IMHO!

[Longdayjake]

You don't see the hill that is about 100 yards behind him? Its kind of hard to tell distance but you can see by the video that there is a hill behind him that can stop the bullets. If you would like to come down and check out the area I would be glad to give you a tour and you can make the decision yourself. Also, I would love to see that .22 rimfire shot. That would be impressive.

[Gbro]

Also, I would love to see that .22 rimfire shot. That would be impressive.

I am just talking about hits, not the destruction your 223 with a v-max did.

Not to rain on your pick-nick, but my daughters (10-13)were tipping over 3" silhouettes @ 200 meters with my old Wards Westernfield .22 LR. No. 43 W/ a Wards Rangefinder Telescopic Sight Model 1. This is a medium weight bolt rifle and the sight is a 3/4" tube with a neat slider that ramps the tube up and down from 25 - 200 yards. We have never shot any premium ammo with it but I have sorted some bricks by weight. Very pleasant rifle to shoot.
I wish I had the rear aperture sight for this rifle. The base is on the rifle but for 30 years I have been looking for the sight.

[Longdayjake]

Its one thing to do it at a range with a rifle that is benched and a totally different thing to do it in the field on uneven terrain at a target you can't even see with the naked eye. Usually when you shoot at steel targets at that range there is a massive contrast between the target and the background. Rockchucks look like rocks. I too have hit clay pidgeons at 200 yards fairly regularly with a stock 10/22 but there is no way I can hit a rockchuck at 200 yards with the same rifle. Its easy to judge a shot from your desk while you are comfortable in your chair but much harder when you are sitting on a cold rock with your back twisted in an uncomfortable position and the wind is blowing in several directions and all you have is a 22lr to make a shot. That said, I don't doubt that there are tons of people that can shoot 3" targets with a .22lr at 200 yards while sitting at a bench at the range. I just doubt that there are many that can make the same shot on a target that is blended in with its surroundings in the same conditions I hunt in. If I could meet someone like that I would really be impressed and also pretty envious. My next video will include where the shooter is sitting so that you can see that we aren't laying down or sitting at a bench and we don't always get a flat surface to rest the bipod on. Maybe that will convince you that those shots aren't so easy.

[Gbro]

Its one thing to do it at a range with a rifle that is benched and a totally different thing to do it in the field on uneven terrain at a target you can't even see with the naked eye.

I agree with that.
This brings back some unpleasant memory's also.
I loved to shoot my Springfield single shot .22 in my youth. I always enjoyed long shots at a bean can, or even better, a blasting cap when we could find them, and that wasn't all that hard.
I was shooting a 7X57 Spanish Mauser when I enlisted, US Army 1971.
I took an immediate dislike, scratch that, Hate of the M-16 because I was stupid and bull headed. My ignorance and stupidity caused me to come close to being recycled in basic training. Yes I received a Toilet Seat to hang on my dress uniform, and that only added to my Hate of the M-16, Blaming everything on a fine rifle that all those lesser fellow solders that were proudly wearing Expert Rifle Badges earned because they in most cases merely listened to Time Proven Instruction.
Today my dress uniform hangs in a utility closet with a Toilet Seat that is a painful reminder of of an Ignorant Bull-Headed past.

Where is all this going, you may ask?
I perhaps mistakenly, see you being extremely (!!!) excited about the 200 yard shooting. Yes not everyone can, but I also was excited like that to the point that nobody, especially that minority Drill Instructor was going to teach ME how to shoot.
Then when it came time to do some real shooting I FAILED.
I encourage my children and now Grand Children to listen, and they are developing into much better marksman than I was.

[Longdayjake]

The exclamation points are more for the video than they are for my shooting ability. I know I'm not the best shooter in the world, but I don't let that get me down when I do make a good shot.

I spend a lot of time at the range and I shoot a lot at 200-400 yards. On occasion I will shoot at a hanging steel target at 600 yards, but my eyes have a hard time shooting open sights that far away. With my m1a I shoot milk jugs at 400 yards but I do miss more than I like to. Given enough time and good enough conditions I can make even farther shots on a regular basis. Then if you give me a scope and some sandbags I can hit targets much further away.

[knoxville]

i'll keep you updated on the contest should know more in a month or so

[knoxville]

oh and give the kid a break gbro

[cornbush]

I have shot in this same area Jake is in.
You dont get nice flat places to shoot from.
It is usually windy, not jus a light breeze.
You have to shoot in all kinds of contorted positions or off hand.
Maybe some people can still light up the X ring everytime in these conditions, I sure can't, dont know many who can.

[Longdayjake]

Just curious but how many chucks does one need to get to win? Or is it the size that matters? Also, do you have to recover the bodies cause half the places I hunt there is no way to get access to the bodies.

[knoxville]

It just depends on the kind of tourney but most of them go on weight best on three or best on five mostly three though. Occasionally there is one for the most killed but rare and mainly a two man team tourney. and yes you have to have the bodies and they weigh more with their guts and body parts atttached so ya might have to find some full metal jackets for that 223

[birdshot]

i often hear shooters complain of a certain bench that is not as solid as they would like. but i have found field shooters are grateful for any kind of a rest. i see bench shooters pack up because the wind is blowing, a day on the prarie is always windy. to me hitting a small live target at 200 yards is good shooting in the field. and hitting at two hundred is only going to make a better shooter.

[Deja vu]

looks like fun, I am from pocatello (chubbuck) and I was unaware of the contest... thanks for the info